Ablexis and AlivaMab Discovery Services Announce Agreements with Almirall to Accelerate Antibody Drug Discovery and Development

Ablexis’ multi-target licensing agreement grants Almirall rights to use the AlivaMab® Mouse technology for research, development and commercialization of antibodies. AlivaMab Discovery Services will apply its platforms and team's expertise in antibody drug discovery and engineering to perform the antibody drug discovery for Almirall.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. & BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ablexis, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company focused on licensing its AlivaMab Mouse technology for antibody drug discovery, and AlivaMab Discovery Services, LLC (“ADS”), a leader in the discovery of superior antibody-based therapeutics, today announced a multi-target licensing agreement between Ablexis and Almirall, S.A. (ALM), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on skin health, and a research partnership between ADS and Almirall.

Under the terms of the license with Ablexis, Almirall is granted non-exclusive rights to use the AlivaMab Mouse technology, a state-of-art platform for the generation of human therapeutic antibodies, for the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody drugs.

Almirall selected ADS to conduct the drug discovery research, leveraging ADS’ expertise in antibody drug discovery, antibody engineering and platform processes to deliver drug-quality, fully human antibodies on exceptional timelines, including engineering for alternative modalities.

“These agreements are in line with Almirall’s vision to develop innovative treatment options for patients suffering from severe skin diseases. AlivaMab Discovery Services’ profound know-how in antibody discovery and engineering together with Almirall's expertise in dermatology will strongly accelerate the development of differentiated treatments to help patients get closer to their goal of leading a healthy life,” stated Dr. Thomas Huber, Research Director at Almirall. “The agreements highlight the company's commitment to early biologics discovery to provide the best solutions to skin conditions through novel science.”

"We are pleased that Almirall has selected the AlivaMab Mouse technology as a key platform for its antibody drug discovery," said Larry Green, Chief Executive Officer at Ablexis, LLC. "Together with the talented and highly experienced team of antibody drug hunters at Ablexis' sister company, AlivaMab Discovery Services, we are increasingly recognized by partners with real experience in antibody drug discovery and development.”

“Almirall joins our rapidly expanding list of high-quality partners that leverage the discovery, engineering and developability assessment capabilities of ADS, especially for challenging targets, functional design goals and advanced modalities,” said Justin Mika, Chief Executive Officer at AlivaMab Discovery Services. “Our partners appreciate how our team’s expertise, combined with the proven AlivaMab Mouse platform, significantly improves the probability of success and shortens timelines in discovery and development. We look forward to supporting Almirall’s efforts to help patients with dermatological conditions.”

About Ablexis, LLC

Ablexis, LLC created and non-exclusively licenses AlivaMab Mouse, a suite of unique, patented next generation transgenic mice, as a platform for human therapeutic antibody discovery. Ablexis has license agreements with dozens of companies, including global pharmaceutical companies, public and private biotechnology companies and other entities. Ablexis continues making AlivaMab Mouse available via non-exclusive licenses. For more information, visit www.ablexis.com. For inquiries, please email info@ablexis.com.

About AlivaMab Discovery Services

AlivaMab Discovery Services (ADS) sets its partners’ antibody discovery programs on the fastest and most de-risked path through discovery and development. Trusted by top-tier pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, ADS delivers drug-quality, fully human antibodies on exceptional timelines. ADS achieves its partners’ design goals, from simple to extraordinarily challenging, through the generation and function-first screening of large, molecularly diverse panels of antibodies. ADS focuses on rapid and efficient delivery of antibodies, characterized for function, kinetics and developability, and engineering for advanced modalities, including multispecifics and CARs. The ADS team’s experience in antibody drug discovery and development comes from many of the world’s top 15 pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche/Genentech, and translates across more than 500 discovery programs and 35 clinical candidates. This experience, combined with the use of trusted, proven technologies, including Ablexis’ AlivaMab® Mouse platforms, ensures the highest probability of success. For more information, please visit www.alivamab.com or email info@alivamab.com.

About Almirall

Almirall is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on skin health. We collaborate with scientists and healthcare professionals to address patient’s needs through science to improve their lives. Our Noble Purpose is at the core of our work: “Transform the patients' world by helping them realize their hopes and dreams for a healthy life”. We invest in differentiated and ground-breaking medical dermatology products to bring our innovative solutions to patients in need.

The company, founded in 1943 and headquartered in Barcelona, is publicly traded on the Spanish Stock Exchange and is a member of the IBEX35 (ticker: ALM). Throughout its 78-year history, Almirall has retained a strong focus on the needs of patients. Currently, Almirall has a direct presence in 21 countries and strategic agreements in over 70, through 13 subsidiaries, with about 1,800 employees. Total revenues in 2020 were 814.5 million euros.

For more information, please visit www.almirall.com.

Contacts

AlivaMab Discovery Services Contacts

BD Contact:
info@alivamab.com

Media Contact:
Stacey Borders
sborders@alivamab.com
(858) 252-3420 x105

Almirall Contacts

Media Contact:
Tinkle
Laura Blázquez
lblazquez@tinkle.es
(+34) 600 430 581

Investors’ Relations Contact:
Almirall
Pablo Divasson del Fraile
pablo.divasson@almirall.com
(+34) 93 291 3087

Corporate Communications Contact:
Almirall
Maria Duro
maria.duro@almirall.com
(+34) 671 580 492